U.S. patent application number 11/353857 was filed with the patent office on 2006-11-02 for cabin for work vehicle.
This patent application is currently assigned to Kubota Corporation. Invention is credited to Koji Masumoto, Kenzo Ushiro.
Application Number | 20060246834 11/353857 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 36934049 |
Filed Date | 2006-11-02 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060246834 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Masumoto; Koji ; et
al. |
November 2, 2006 |
Cabin for work vehicle
Abstract
A cabin for a work vehicle, comprising: a ceiling portion; an
air conditioner provided to the work vehicle; an air distribution
duct provided to the ceiling portion for communicating conditioned
air from the air conditioner to the cabin; an air guide projecting
into the air distribution duct at an intermediate portion of the
duct and forming an inlet opening in a lateral face of a projecting
portion of the air guide; and an outlet portion extending to
outside the duct and having an opening for introducing the
conditioned air from the inlet opening into the cabin. The air
guide is pivotable between a use condition and a non-use condition
where the inlet opening is oriented differently from an orientation
of the inlet opening when the air guide is in the use condition.
The air guide is pivotable about an axis such that the inlet
opening of the air guide assumes an upstream orientation with
respect to a direction of air flow within the air distribution duct
when the air guide is in the use condition whereas the inlet
opening of the air guide assumes a downstream orientation with
respect to the direction of air flow within the air distribution
duct when the air guide is in the non-use condition.
Inventors: |
Masumoto; Koji; (Osaka,
JP) ; Ushiro; Kenzo; (Osaka, JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
THE WEBB LAW FIRM, P.C.
700 KOPPERS BUILDING
436 SEVENTH AVENUE
PITTSBURGH
PA
15219
US
|
Assignee: |
Kubota Corporation
Osaka-shi
JP
|
Family ID: |
36934049 |
Appl. No.: |
11/353857 |
Filed: |
February 14, 2006 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
454/109 ; 165/42;
62/239 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60H 1/00378 20130101;
B60H 2001/00235 20130101; B60H 1/3414 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
454/109 ;
165/042; 062/239 |
International
Class: |
B61D 27/00 20060101
B61D027/00; B60H 3/00 20060101 B60H003/00; B60H 1/32 20060101
B60H001/32; B60H 1/00 20060101 B60H001/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Mar 14, 2005 |
JP |
PAT 2005-070842 |
Claims
1. A cabin for a work vehicle, comprising: a ceiling portion; an
air conditioner provided to the work vehicle; an air distribution
duct provided to the ceiling portion for communicating conditioned
air from the air conditioner to the cabin; an air guide projecting
into the air distribution duct at an intermediate portion of the
duct and forming an inlet opening in a lateral face of a projecting
portion of the air guide; and an outlet portion extending to
outside the duct and having an opening for introducing the
conditioned air from the inlet opening into the cabin; wherein the
air guide is pivotable between a use condition and a non-use
condition where the inlet opening is oriented differently from an
orientation of the inlet opening when the air guide is in the use
condition; and wherein the air guide is pivotable about an axis
such that the inlet opening of the air guide assumes an upstream
orientation with respect to a direction of air flow within the air
distribution duct when the air guide is in the use condition
whereas the inlet opening of the air guide assumes a downstream
orientation with respect to the direction of air flow within the
air distribution duct when the air guide is in the non-use
condition.
2. The work vehicle cabin according to claim 1, wherein the axis
extends substantially vertically, and wherein when the air guide is
in the use condition, the opening of the outlet portion is directed
away from a straight forward direction to feed conditioned air
generally toward a side view mirror.
3. The work vehicle cabin according to claim 1, wherein the outlet
portion is a separate piece from the air guide and is connected to
the air guide so as to be integrally rotatable therewith.
4. The work vehicle cabin according to claim 1, wherein the air
guide includes a lower portion extending substantially straight
along said axis and an upper portion projecting into the air duct
and having the inlet opening.
5. The work vehicle cabin according to claim 4, wherein the outlet
portion includes an upper portion extending along said axis and a
lower portion extending at a predetermined angle relative to the
upper portion and having the opening.
6. The work vehicle cabin according to claim 1, wherein the inlet
opening of the air guide is oriented substantially different, in
plan view, from the opening direction of the opening of the outlet
portion.
7. The work vehicle cabin according to claim 1, wherein an area of
the inlet opening is substantially greater than an area of the
opening of the outlet portion.
8. The work vehicle cabin according to claim 7, wherein the area of
the inlet opening is at least twice as great as the area of the
opening of the outlet portion.
9. The work vehicle cabin according to claim 1, wherein the opening
of the outlet portion generally extend horizontally and wherein the
horizontal width of the opening is greater than the vertical height
of the opening.
10. The work vehicle cabin according to claim 9, wherein the
horizontal width of the opening is at least twice as great as the
vertical height of the opening.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a cabin for a work vehicle
having an air outlet for feeding conditioned air from an air
distribution duct into the cabin.
[0002] Conventionally, for use in a vehicle, as shown in the
Japanese Patent Application "Kokai" No. 2001-280683 (paragraphs
[0002], [0027] and FIGS. 2-8), there is known an air conditioning
technique wherein a shutter damper or a wind deflector is provided
at an outlet of conditioned air, such that by opening/closing or
changing orientation of the shutter damper or wind deflector,
conditioned air may be supplied in a controlled manner to a desired
area or not supplied at all when desired.
[0003] When e.g. fogging occurs on a glass sheet in the driver's
cabin, this can sometimes impair the visibility of a sideview
mirror located outside the cabin. In such case, by feeding
conditioned air to the surface of fogged glass sheet, the air can
eliminate the fogging or provide anti-fogging effect to the glass
sheet, thus improving the visibility of the sideview mirror.
[0004] When the above-described conventional technique designed to
allow controlled feeding of conditioned air to a desired portion or
stopping the feeding of air thereto at all is to be employed, this
would tend to invite increased complexity of the construction due
to the requirement of such component as the shutter damper or the
wind deflector as well as the requirement for allowing the pivotal
operation of the dumper or deflector. Further, in order to allow
the conditioned air to be supplied to the desired portion with high
precision, correspondingly high precision would be required in the
guiding performance of the wind deflector or the like, which would
invite further complexity in the construction.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] In view of the above-described state of the art, a primary
object of the present invention is to provide a driver's cabin
construction which allows controlled feeding or decreased feeding
of the conditioned air in a simple manner.
[0006] For accomplishing the above-noted object, according to the
present invention, a cabin for a work vehicle comprises: a ceiling
portion; an air conditioner provided to the work vehicle; an air
distribution duct provided to the ceiling portion for communicating
conditioned air from the air conditioner to the cabin; an air guide
projecting into the air distribution duct at an intermediate
portion of the duct and forming an inlet opening in a lateral face
of a projecting portion of the air guide; and an outlet portion
extending to outside the duct and having an opening for introducing
the conditioned air from the inlet opening into the cabin. The air
guide is pivotable between a use condition and a non-use condition
where the inlet opening is oriented differently from an orientation
of the inlet opening when the air guide is in the use condition.
The air guide is pivotable about an axis such that the inlet
opening of the air guide assumes an upstream orientation with
respect to a direction of air flow within the air distribution duct
when the air guide is in the use condition whereas the inlet
opening of the air guide assumes a downstream orientation with
respect to the direction of air flow within the air distribution
duct when the air guide is in the non-use condition.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] FIG. 1 is a side view showing a tractor in its entirety,
[0008] FIG. 2 is a section of an air conditioning system,
[0009] FIG. 3 is a bottom view of a ceiling portion, showing a
ceiling face as seen from inside of a driver's cabin,
[0010] FIG. 4 is a side view in vertical section of the ceiling
portion,
[0011] FIG. 5(A) is a section showing an outlet member and an air
guide under a use condition of the outlet member,
[0012] FIG. 5(B) is an explanatory view illustrating the use
condition of the outlet member,
[0013] FIG. 5(C) is a section showing the outlet member and the air
guide under a non-use condition of the outlet member,
[0014] FIG. 5(D) is an explanatory view illustrating the non-use
condition of the outlet member, and
[0015] FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a portion of an engine
section where an engine cooling radiator and a condenser are
disposed,
[0016] FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a different embodiment of the
outlet portion and the air guide, and
[0017] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the different embodiment of
the outlet portion and the air guide shown in FIG. 7.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0018] Next, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be
described in details with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
[0019] As shown in FIG. 1, a tractor, as an example of a work
vehicle, includes a pair of right and left steerable and drivable
front wheels 1 and a pair of right and left drivable rear wheels 2
for self-propelling of the vehicle body, an engine section
including an engine 3 mounted at a front portion of the vehicle
body, and a vehicle frame including a driver's section having a
driver's cabin 10. At a rear portion of the vehicle frame, there is
provided a link mechanism 4 having such components as a pair of
right and left lower inks 4a. The link mechanism 4 allows operable
connection of various utility implements to the rear portion of the
vehicle body. For instance, a rotary tiller (not shown), as an
example of implement, can be operably connected to be lifted
up/down by the link mechanism 4. With attachment and operable
connection of such various implements thereto, the tractor can be
converted into a variety of work vehicles.
[0020] As shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, there is provided also an air
conditioning system. This air conditioning system includes: an air
conditioner 20 having such components as an evaporator 21 disposed
inside a ceiling portion 11 of the driver's cabin 10 at a front end
of the cabin, a rotary fan 22, a heater 23 and front outlet members
24 opened to the inside of the driver's cabin 10 at the front end
of the ceiling portion 11; a pair of right and left air
distribution ducts 30 having respective front ends thereof
communicated with air outlet openings 25 provided on opposed ends
of the air conditioner 20 relative to the lateral direction of the
cabin; outlet members 31, 32 provided at a plurality of positions
of the respective air distribution ducts 30 in distribution along
the fore-and-aft direction of the cabin and opened into the
driver's cabin 10; a circulating opening 33 provided at an end of
the ceiling portion 11 adjacent the rear end of the cabin and
opened into the driver's cabin 10; an ambience air inlet opening 34
provided at the rear end of the ceiling portion 11 and opened to
the outside of the driver's cabin.
[0021] The air conditioning system is provided for air conditioning
for the purpose of cooling or heating the inside of the driver's
cabin 10. This system operates as follows.
[0022] When the air conditioner 20 is operated, in association of
suctioning and blowing functions of the rotary fan 22, the air
conditioner 20 draws in air present inside the driver's cabin
through the circulating opening 33 and/or air present outside the
cabin through the ambient air inlet opening 34 and feeds it to the
evaporator 21 or the heater 23. The air is subjected to a heat
exchange through the evaporator 21 or the heater 23 to be converted
into conditioned air for cooling or heating. Then, this conditioned
air is discharged through the front outlet members 24 to the
vicinity of a front windshield (glass sheet) 12 inside the driver's
cabin 10. Further, when pivotable dampers 26 provided at the
respective outlet members 25 of the air conditioner 20 are
pivotally opened, the conditioned air generated by the air
conditioner 20 is fed into the respective air distribution ducts
30, and the conditioned air flowing through each air distribution
duct 30 from the front end to the rear ends thereof is discharged
through the respective outlet portion 31, 32 to the vicinity of a
side door glass sheet 13 or a side wall glass sheet 14 (see FIG. 1)
inside the driver's cabin 10.
[0023] As shown in FIG. 5, of the plurality of outlet members 31,
22 provided to the respective air distribution ducts 30, each of
the outlet members 31 disposed at the front-most position of the
cabin includes a plurality of outlet holes 31a in the form of slits
and this outlet member, as a whole, is constructed as a tubular
member which is pivotally supported to an inner roof 15 via a
mounting tubular portion 31b.
[0024] With the above-described construction in operation, as the
outlet portion 31 provided at the front-most end of each air
distribution duct 30 is pivoted in one direction or the other about
an axis P of the mounting tubular portion 31b extending along the
vertical direction of the cabin, the outlet portion 31 is
selectively brought into a use condition as shown in FIG. 5(B)
where the portion 31 is directed toward the lateral outer side of
the cabin to orient the outlet holes 31a thereof toward a portion
of the side door glass sheet 13 adjacent a sideview mirror 16 or
into a non-use condition as shown FIG. 5(C) where the outlet holes
31 are pivoted about 180 degrees from their positions under the use
condition to be oriented toward the inner side of the cabin.
[0025] As may be clearly seen in FIG. 5, each front-end outlet
portion 31 is provided with an air guide 35 comprised of a tubular
member extending from the mounting tubular portion 31b to the
inside of the air distribution duct 30 and having, at its extension
extreme end, an inlet opening 35a located inside the air
distribution duct 30.
[0026] When the outlet portion 31 is in its use condition, the air
guide 35 is also said to be in its use condition whereas when the
outlet portion 31 is in its non-use condition, the air guide 35 is
also said to be in its non-use condition.
[0027] The air guide 35 is connected to the outlet portion 31 in
such a manner that the air guide 35 can be pivoted about the axis P
together with the outlet portion 31 relative to the inner roof 15
and the air distribution duct 30. More particularly, this air guide
35 includes a lower portion extending substantially linearly along
the axis P and an upper portion projecting into the air
distribution duct 30 and having the inlet opening 35a. Whereas, the
outlet portion 31 includes an upper portion extending substantially
linearly along the axis P and a lower portion extending with a
predetermined angle relative to the upper portion and having the
outlet openings.
[0028] As may be understood in the plan view of FIG. 2, the opening
direction of the inlet opening 35a of the air guide 35 differs from
the opening direction of the outlet portion 31, with the opening
direction of the outlet portion 31 being offset about 45 degrees to
the outer side relative to the opening direction of the inlet
opening 35a.
[0029] FIG. 5(A) shows the air guide 35 when the outlet portion 31
is operated to the use condition, whereas FIG. 5(C) shows the air
guide 35 when the outlet portion 31 is operated to the non-use
condition. As shown, the air guide 35 and the outlet portion 31 are
connected to each other such that when the outlet portion 31 is
under the use condition, the inlet opening 35a of the air guide 35
assumes an upstream orientation relative to the movement of the air
flowing through the air distribution duct 30, whereas, when the
outlet portion 31 is under the non-use condition, the inlet opening
35a of the air guide 35 assumes a downstream orientation relative
to the movement of the air flowing through the air distribution
duct 30. Here, the language "upstream orientation" should be taken
broadly to as an orientation including components opposite to the
air flowing direction. In the instant embodiment, if the air
flowing direction (corresponding to the rear side of the tractor in
this embodiment) is 0 degrees in the direction in the plan view,
the "upstream orientation" refers to an angular range from
90.degree. to 270.degree. including 180.degree.. Likewise, the
language "downward orientation" refers to an angular range from
270.degree. to 90.degree. including 0.degree.. More preferably,
when the outlet portion 31 is under the use condition, the inlet
opening 35a of the air guide 35 should be within an angular range
from 135.degree. to 225.degree. including 180.degree. relative to
the air flowing direction of the air distribution duct 30; and when
the outlet portion 31 is under the non-use condition, the inlet
opening 35a of the air guide 35 should be within an angular range
from 315.degree. to 45.degree. including 0.degree. relative to the
air flowing direction of the air distribution duct 30. Even more
preferably, when the outlet portion 31 is under the use condition,
the inlet opening 35a of the air guide 35 should be within an
angular range degrees from 150.degree. to 210.degree. including
180.degree. relative to the air flowing direction of the air
distribution duct 30; and when the outlet portion 31 is under the
non-use condition, the inlet opening 35a of the air guide 35 should
be within an angular range 330.degree. to 30.degree. including
0.degree. relative to the air flowing direction of the air
distribution duct 30. In this particular embodiment, when the
outlet portion 31 is under the use condition, the inlet opening 35a
of the air guide 35 is at the angular position 180.degree. relative
to the air flowing direction of the air distribution duct 30; and
when the outlet portion 31 is under the non-use condition, the
inlet opening 35a of the air guide 35 is at the angular position of
0.degree. relative to the air flowing direction of the air
distribution duct 30.
[0030] Referring now to the function of the above-described
construction, when there occurs fogging on the side door glass
sheet 13, the outlet portion 31 is pivoted to the use condition as
shown in FIG. 5(B). Then, the conditioned air flowing within the
air distribution duct 30 is smoothly introduced into the inlet
opening 35a of the air guide 35, then, this conditioned air is
guided by the air guide 35 to flow to the outlet portion 31 and the
air is eventually discharged through the respective outlet holes
(slits) 31a of the outlet portion 31, whereby the conditioned air
is fed to the portion of the side door glass sheet 13 adjacent the
sideview mirror 16. As a result, the conditioned air thus fed
eliminates the fogging on the side door glass 13 or provides an
anti-fogging effect thereto, thus improving the visibility of the
sideview mirror 16.
[0031] In the course of the above, if the orientation of the outlet
portion 31 is adjusted within a range not too deviated from the
portion of the side door glass 13 adjacent the sideview mirror 16,
the orientation of the inlet opening 35a of the air guide 35 will
be varied within a range slightly offset laterally relative to the
air distribution duct 30, whereby the amount of the conditioned air
introduced in the inlet opening 35a of the air guide 35 may be
increased or decreased accordingly. Hence, the amount of the
conditioned air to be supplied to the portion of the side door
glass sheet 13 adjacent the sideview mirror 16 may be adjusted
appropriately.
[0032] When such defogging of the side door glass 13 is not needed,
the outlet member 13 is pivoted to the non-use condition. Then,
this restricts the amount of conditioned air flowing through the
air distribution duct 30 to be introduced into the inlet opening
35a. Further, even if some amount of conditioned air enters the air
guide 35, this air will not leak from the outlet portion 31 toward
the side door glass sheet 13. Hence, the feeding of the conditioned
air to the side door glass sheet 13 can be stopped. In this, as the
introduction of the conditioned air flowing through the air
distribution duct 30 is resisted as described above, the air will
flow instead to the downstream side of the air guide 35, so that
this conditioned air can be smoothly fed to the outlet members 32
disposed on the more rear side than the front-most outlet members
31.
[0033] As shown in FIG. 6, of the opposed lateral sides of the
condenser 41 mounted on an engine mounting frame 44 on the more
front side of the vehicle body than the engine cooling radiator 40
of the engine section, on the lateral side opposite to the side
where such components as a cooling medium supply pipe (not shown)
connecting the condenser 41 with the air conditioner 20 are
disposed, there is provided a shielding plate 42 which shields
space between the condenser 41 and the engine cooling radiator
40.
[0034] That is, cooling air supplied to the engine cooling radiator
40 in association with the suction effect of the rotary fan (not
shown) disposed rearwardly of the engine cooling radiator 40 may
inadvertently flow into the radiator 40 from between the condenser
41 and the radiator 40 without passing the radiator 41. The
shielding plate 42 restricts such inadvertent direct inflow of
cooling air to the radiator 41. With this, the engine cooling air
will reliably enter the condenser 41 from its front face and flow
therethrough and then flow into the radiator 40. As a result,
cooling of refrigerant or coolant gas within the condenser 41 can
proceed in an efficient manner, whereby the air conditioner 20 can
provide effective cooling effect.
[0035] Numeral 43 shown in FIG. 6 denotes an oil cooler.
Other Embodiments
[0036] In the foregoing embodiment, the pivotable outlet portion 31
is configured to discharge conditioned air toward the side door
glass sheet 13. Instead, the pivotable outlet portion 31 can be
configured to discharge conditioned air toward the front windshield
glass sheet or the rear glass sheet. In such modified constructions
too, the object of the present invention can be equally achieved.
For this reason, the portion of the side door glass 13 adjacent the
sideview mirror will be generically referred to as "air feeding
target portion".
[0037] FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate an air guide 45 and an outlet
portion 41 in accordance with another embodiment of the present
invention. The air guide 45 extend substantially straight
vertically and has an inlet opening 45a. The inlet opening 45a
takes up at least half of the vertical length of the air guide 45.
The lower portion of the air guide 45 engages the inner roof 15 and
has projections 45b that are spaced apart circumstantially. The
outlet portion 41 is attached to the lower end of the air guide 45
by mans of any known attachment means such as adhesive, or a bolt
and nut arrangement. The air guide 45 and/or outlet portion 41 can
be manufactured using any known suitable material such as resin,
plastic or resilient material such as rubber. In the present
embodiment, the outlet portion is made of rubber. The outlet
portion 41 has an opening that extends generally horizontally as
shown in FIG. 8. The horizontal width of the opening is preferably
substantially greater than the vertical height of the opening. The
horizontal width of the opening is at least twice, or preferably,
four times as great as the vertical height of the opening.
[0038] In any of the embodiments described above, the inlet opening
may open in the same direction in plan view as the opening of the
outlet portion as shown in FIG. 8 while the inlet opening and the
opening of the outlet portion may be oriented to point to
substantially different directions, in plan view, as in the first
embodiment.
* * * * *